More in-depth eval for Cooper as he got the nod for First Team. Great command on the ball and understands his strengths as a southpaw lead guard who can create separations with twitch. Despite having the ability to score it from multiple levels, the 6-foot-1 freshman keeps his eyes up scanning the floor ready to deliver bullet passes to cutting teammates as much of the defense’s attention is on him with the ball.

There’s started to be some buzz building around Cooper as of late and the freshman guard showed on Saturday that there’s certainly good reason for the hype. He stands out right away with great size and length for a budding young lead guard. Cooper shows dynamic quickness and sudden burst as a ballhandler to blow by defenders with ease en route to his spots. He also uses his length and quickness to really heat up the ball on the defensive end. His two-way ability should give him a chance to crack the rotation right away and be on D1 radars sooner rather than later.

All of the signs were clear today that when we debut our 2030 rankings in December or so, Cooper will be amongst the cream of the crop. Currently a part of our watchlist, the 6-foot-1 southpaw hopes to carve out a role on a young, but very deep Gonzaga roster. With performances like today, he shouldn’t have an issue as he operated with mature pace, quick processing skills while maneuvering his way through traffic and consistently finishing over contests around the rim. At one point during the 5v5 portion, Cooper accepted the challenge from McCoy and embraced it. Some could make the argument he got the better of it for a stretch, but it speaks to his game and competitiveness as a freshman to go head-to-head with a Division I prospect.

Cooper made the right, simple reads on drives, but used his eyes to manipulate the defense on catches around the perimeter to open passing windows along the baseline before throwing a dart to cutting teammates.

Cooper’s frame is another aspect that makes him so intriguing. With broad shoulders and long arms, give him some time in the weight room and you’ll see him transform other aspects of his game as he tracks to be one of the many Division I prospects in a talented 2030 talent pool.

One of the more highly sought after 2030 prospects, Cooper is slated to battle for his spot in the rotation of a young, but experience Gonzaga roster. The 6-foot-1 combo guard has shown more command playing on the ball, but can shift to either guard spot with his ability to create for himself off the bounce. The crafty, dynamic southpaw should thrive in this sort of setting playing in at an uptempo pace and when in the half court, will operate in plenty of ball screens to show off his floor vision and ability to deliver off the live dribble.

Cooper is one of the more well-known prospects in this 2030 local class and he’ll head to Gonzaga to join a very impressive group of freshmen to go along with a youthful roster. It’ll remain to be seen as to whether Cooper can carve out an involved role within the rotation from day one considering the amount of talent in the backcourt for head coach Keith Urgo, but there’s no doubt he’ll improve his skill set over the next year in practice battles alone. Nevertheless, Coopers is a smooth operating southpaw who can get to the rim while navigating through traffic. He’s a crafty finisher once he gets there, but if he has to settle from the mid-range or three, the 6-foot-1 lead guard has shown he’s capable of knocking them down in bunches.